BATON ROUGE – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced its regional award winners on Tuesday afternoon, and LSU junior Walter Henning and assistant coach Derek Yush have been honored by the organization for the Tigers’ outstanding performance this indoor season.
Henning has been named the Men’s South Central Region Field Athlete of the Year, while Yush has been named the Men’s South Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year by the USTFCCCA.
This marks the second year in a row that Henning has been honored by the USTFCCCA with its premiere award presented to the top field event athlete in the South Central Region.
The awards continue to roll in for Henning as he was also rewarded as the SEC Men’s Indoor Field Event Athlete of the Year a week ago following his record-setting victory in the 35-pound weight throw at the 2010 SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships back on Feb. 27.
Henning won his second career SEC Indoor crown in the weight throw event as he unleashed a new PR of 78 feet, 1 inch on his third attempt of the competition. Not only did Henning shatter his own LSU school record in the event, but he also shattered the previous SEC Indoor Championships meet record of 76-5 set by former Auburn All-American Cory Martin during the 2007 campaign.
Henning has improved his personal-best performance in three competitions this season with throws of 75-8 at the New Mexico Invitational on Jan. 30, 76-6 ½ at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational on Feb. 6 and 78-1 at the SEC Indoor Championships on Feb. 27. Henning has now won all five weight throw titles for which he has competed during the 2010 indoor season.
A native of Kings Park, N.Y., Henning enters this weekend’s NCAA Indoor Championship as the favorite to win the NCAA crown in the 35-pound weight throw as his mark of 78-1 ranks No. 1 in the country by more than three feet. Memphis’ Steffen Nerdel follows a distant second on the NCAA list at 74-10.
That resume also helped land Henning on the men’s watch list for The Bowerman, which is an award that will be presented this summer to the top male and female collegiate track and field athlete.
Henning has built a reputation as one of the nation’s elite throwers with the help of Yush, who has served as Henning’s event coach since the All-American arrived at LSU during the summer of 2008.
The LSU throwers have helped lead the Tigers throughout the 2010 indoor season as Yush has coached both Henning and sophomore Michael Lauro into the NCAA Indoor Championships this weekend. Lauro has also set a new personal best in the weight throw this season with a top mark of 68-3 ¼ that ranked No. 15 on the NCAA performance list during the regular season.
Yush’s student-athletes scored a total of 20 points at the SEC Indoor Championships as the Tigers earned a third-place finish in the final team standings. After winning the weight throw title, Henning totaled four points with a fifth-place finish in the shot put. Lauro just missed earning all-conference honors with three points and a third-place finish in the weight throw competition.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers will travel to the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., on Friday as the 2010 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships are scheduled for this weekend.